Johnny Appleseed: The Legend and the Truth Book

Everyone knows the legend of Johnny Appleseed, the man from Massachusetts who planted apple trees all the way to California. But the true story of Johnny Appleseed, or John Chapman, is even greater than the legend. In deft and lyrical prose, Jane Yolen tells the whole story of an individual who forever changed the landscape of America.

Breathtaking paintings by award-winning artist Jim Burke illuminate the historical detail of this man's life while capturing all the magic and mystery of his legend.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4

Yolen relates both fact and legend in this brief biographical piece about John Chapman, know best as Johnny Appleseed. Against each double-page painting, the text is set in a creamy rectangular box that has the appearance of a frayed-edge leaf torn from an old book. At the top is a rhyming quatrain followed by the refrain, "Johnny, Johnny Appleseed" (e.g., "Learns to write,/Learns to read,/First word he pens/Is apple seed./Johnny, Johnny Appleseed"). Information about Chapman's life appears under the verses; it details his growing desire to travel west, his love of nature, and his interactions with Native Americans and settlers. Tidbits about Chapman, his family, his travels, and the heritage he left are also included. While sources are mentioned for a few of these facts, there are no source notes or acknowledgments for most of the seemingly factual information related here. Burke's thickly painted illustrations in rich hues of greens and browns, blues and yellows range from folk style to several realistic portraits and one lifelike study of an open pair of hands holding apple seeds. An author's note adds some details of legends that spread about Chapman's feats and his unusual lifestyle. Will Moses's Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend (Philomel, 2001), written in the rambling style of an old yarn, is filled with verified factual details of Chapman's life and includes a bibliography. Gwenyth Swain's Johnny Appleseed (Carolrhoda, 2001), written in easy-reader format, includes both a chronology and bibliography.-Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH